Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:00:00this is a real survival course. The biggest challenge
00:00:03is a challenge to yourself, one on one with
00:00:06the forest. Saturday at 17:10 on ETV+.
00:00:48Today's program features the Tartu Botanical Garden -
00:00:51a treasure trove of knowledge about the plant world. Lichens
00:00:54particularly captivated me because they are very mysterious. They are
00:00:57a piece of .
00:01:30Sunny, compact, green, incredibly cozy – these are all
00:01:33epithets for Tartu. Science and art go hand in
00:01:37hand here. Tartu is a city for people. For example, the municipality
00:01:41organized bicycle rentals for citizens. Schoolchildren can
00:01:45borrow them for free. And these are the famous Tartu
00:01:48red buses that run on biogas produced in
00:01:52Estonia. But first and foremost, Tartu is
00:01:56a student city.
00:02:00To engage in environmental protection, one needs to understand how
00:02:04this environment functions, and for that, education is needed. People
00:02:08come to Tartu for this, as it hosts the oldest and most
00:02:11prestigious university in
00:02:13Estonia.
00:02:18Tartu University was founded by Swedish King Gustav
00:02:21II Adolf in 1632.
00:02:24The greatest scientists of their time taught and
00:02:28studied here, for example, from 1810 to
00:02:311814, the founder of embryology, naturalist,
00:02:35and geographer Karl Ernst von Baer studied in Tartu.
00:02:38The scientist, who came from Baltic German nobility,
00:02:42returned to his homeland in the twilight of his days, considering his career in
00:02:45St. Petersburg and the Academy of Sciences completed. When
00:02:49Estonia in 1992 introduced its national
00:02:53currency, the kroon, Karl Ernst von Baer was depicted
00:02:56on a two-kroon banknote. Currently, Tartu University has
00:03:04four faculties: Arts and Humanities,
00:03:08Social Sciences, Medicine, and the Faculty of
00:03:12Science and Technology.
00:03:14The university buildings are
00:03:18located in different parts of the city, and
00:03:22this includes the botanical garden. The Tartu
00:03:25Botanical Garden is a treasure trove of knowledge
00:03:28about the plant world. A scientific
00:04:30specifically lichens. I had a general interest in all
00:04:34nature, in the environment,
00:04:36in plants, mosses,
00:04:39in forests, but lichens specifically captivated me because
00:04:43they are very mysterious, they are very unclear, there is still
00:04:46a lot undiscovered in them, this attracted
00:04:49me the most.
00:04:51Lichens can come in the most bizarre forms, this is
00:04:55for example, a bearded lichen, because it looks like a real
00:04:59beard. And this is pulmonary lobaria, it resembles lung
00:05:02tissue, in the past it was used in medicine as a medicine,
00:05:06with its help they tried to treat lung diseases, but
00:05:10unsuccessfully, generally lichens can be found
00:05:13almost everywhere, these spots on tree trunks are also
00:05:17lichens. Polina, why are lichens
00:05:20so interesting? Well, let's start with the fact that lichen is not
00:05:24just one single organism, but several at once.
00:05:28Lichens are a symbiosis between a fungus and
00:05:31an alga or cyanobacteria, meaning it's a small
00:05:35ecosystem within this thallus or
00:05:38frond or lichen body, as we call it. When you, as a
00:05:42professional scientist, look at a lichen, what do you see,
00:05:46what information do you get? In fact, lichens can tell us
00:05:49a lot, for example, about the environment.
00:05:52Lichens are very good indicators of air quality,
00:05:56and they also
00:05:58can show how valuable
00:06:02certain forest communities are from a nature conservation
00:06:05perspective. They are very sensitive to environmental
00:06:08changes, and some lichens cannot tolerate pollution.
00:06:43bacteria, other micro-fungi live in the thallus
00:06:46of the lichen, and why is this important, why is this
00:06:50interesting? I already mentioned that lichen is not
00:06:54just one organism, but it is a symbiosis between a fungus and
00:06:57an alga, but in laboratory conditions it is almost
00:07:00impossible to grow a lichen to reproduce
00:07:04this symbiosis in laboratory conditions, and one of
00:07:08the hypotheses why it is impossible to reproduce, impossible to grow a lichen is...
00:07:12other microorganisms located inside, with
00:07:15the help of modern DNA sequencing
00:07:19technologies, we want to find out who lives in
00:07:22lichens, what other microorganisms make up this symbiosis.
00:07:36These greenhouses are also part of the Botanical Garden
00:07:39of Tartu University, however, usually... access for visitors
00:07:43is closed here, here botanist scientists are engaged
00:07:47in their research. Marina, tell us, what is the essence
00:07:50of your experiment? Here
00:07:53we grow different types of onion plants in different
00:07:57soils that we collected throughout Estonia and, and what we
00:08:00want to find out is how different plants, what their
00:08:04relationships are with microbes that live in
00:08:08the soil, and some plants have a
00:08:10negative relationship with these microbes, meaning they usually
00:08:14get sick from them, while for others it's the opposite, they seem to
00:08:17cooperate with these microbes, these microbes help them extract
00:08:21nutrients from the soil, we want to understand
00:08:24why some plants have one relationship, and others have another, how can
00:08:28this knowledge be useful to us? Right now we are looking at what
00:08:32happens in nature, we want to understand the full spectrum
00:08:35of nature, what different plants can actually do in nature, and of course this
00:08:39can then be applied, for example, in agriculture. So we have
00:08:43some crops, we know that we have many problems with
00:08:46pests, so we use many pesticides,
00:08:49using our knowledge of nature, we can apply it to
00:08:53agriculture, we hope in the future.
00:08:54Marina Semchenko graduated from
00:08:58Tartu University, where she also defended her doctoral
00:09:01dissertation. Recently, she returned to Estonia from England,
00:09:04where she worked at the University of Manchester. She has
00:09:08a publication in the journal Nature, the most authoritative
00:09:11scientific publication in the field of biology. For example,
00:09:14we have one plant, in
00:09:17this pot - the soil is dead, let's say, here
00:09:21all microbes, bacteria, fungi, all killed by gamma
00:09:24radiation, so nothing grows here, it's dead soil, and
00:09:28this plant is very happy there, and here is the same
00:09:32plant, but in living soil, as it is in nature, we see that this plant
00:09:35does not like it at all, here in this soil there are many
00:09:39pests that subject this plant to diseases,
00:09:42therefore it cannot grow, and there are many
00:09:46such plants, and usually agricultural plants also
00:09:49show such a result, that is, the cleaner the soil, the better
00:09:52the plant feels, well not cleaner, but simply that there is no life in
00:09:56it, but on the other hand we have such plants in nature, which
00:09:59on the contrary, here now it is dead soil, this
00:10:03plant barely survives at all, that is, the sprout did not even start to grow, and
00:10:06here is living soil, and this plant wants to live in...
00:10:10living soil, and we want to understand what is in this soil and how they
00:10:14cooperate with it, why this plant grows better in living
00:10:18soil.
00:10:19Tatiana Oja, née
00:10:28Halina, graduated from Voronezh University and came to Estonia in
00:10:31the late seventies, following her husband, ecologist and
00:10:35geoinformatician Tõnu Oja. Currently, Tatiana
00:10:39Oja is an associate professor at the Department of Botany
00:10:42of Tartu University. One of her latest projects,
00:10:46in which every resident of Estonia can participate, is dedicated
00:10:50to the study of the spring primrose. This project
00:10:53belongs to so-called citizen
00:10:57science. Citizen science is a relatively new
00:11:00phenomenon, where the entire society,
00:11:02from junior schoolchildren to
00:11:06pensioners, is involved in scientific
00:11:09research. Moreover, these are people who, so to speak,
00:11:13have no connection to science, but they are people who
00:11:16enjoy being in nature and who
00:11:20enjoy acquiring new knowledge.
00:11:23The spring primrose blooms in late spring,
00:11:26early summer. Everyone who goes into nature during this
00:11:30period is encouraged by Tartu University and Tatiana
00:11:33Oja to participate in a special scientific project. The flowers
00:11:37of the spring primrose have one feature: they can be divided
00:11:40into two types: flowers with long
00:11:44pistil styles are L-type
00:11:47flowers. Flowers with long stamens are
00:11:51S-type flowers. This phenomenon is called
00:11:55heterostyly. It is
00:11:59an adaptation for cross-pollination.
00:12:02The spring primrose will need
00:12:04to be photographed and the photo shared with scientists.
00:12:08All details are on this website.
00:12:11By studying how the primrose fares
00:12:14in Estonian populations, we will gain
00:12:18information about other species of insect-pollinated
00:12:22plants. And at the same time, we will gain
00:12:25information about changes in the landscape and how
00:12:28these changes affect the habitat
00:12:31of the primrose and insect
00:12:34pollinators.
00:12:43The Estonian University of Life Sciences, or Eesti
00:12:46Maaülikool, is also located in Tartu. It is here
00:12:50that professional
00:12:51ecologists are trained.
00:12:55The University of Life Sciences was founded in
00:12:571951 and was formerly
00:13:00called the Agricultural Academy, but in 2005 it was
00:13:04reconstructed and renamed. It is the only
00:13:07higher education institution in Estonia whose priorities in
00:13:10academic research practice
00:13:13are sustainable natural resource management, necessary for human
00:13:17existence, as well as environmental protection and
00:13:21natural heritage. Here, animal husbandry is taught.
00:13:55Also, in our department, we study the migration of grey cranes
00:13:58to Africa and back to Estonia. We develop natural
00:14:02technological solutions to reduce the impact of heavy
00:14:05rainfall in urban areas, so that water drains more into
00:14:09plants and so on. The spheres in which we work and
00:14:13that fall under the definition of ecology are very numerous.
00:14:16For the average person, the word "ecology" implies a careful
00:14:20attitude towards nature, but that is far from everything that
00:14:23this concept encompasses.
00:14:28Graduates of the Estonian University of Life Sciences work in
00:14:32many government agencies and commercial structures,
00:14:35for example, in environmental departments, the State Forest
00:14:39Management Centre, and large industrial enterprises. They
00:14:42are mainly responsible for monitoring the ecological situation in the
00:14:46country.
00:14:51For example, in Estonia, the number of field and forest
00:14:54birds has decreased. Insects, various pollinators, such as bumblebees and
00:14:57so on, accordingly, cause concern, as do the plants that
00:15:01these insects previously pollinated, flowering plants, meadow
00:15:05plants, and so on. These are all complex problems. Natural
00:15:09communities whose members are closely interconnected, we
00:15:12have reason to worry about them, although the situation in Estonia is
00:15:16not as dire as in other European countries,
00:15:20where intensive agriculture has been practiced for a prolonged period
00:15:23of time, however...
00:15:37This is a piece of tropical forest in an ordinary after-school
00:15:41club. This is probably where the most
00:15:43beautiful young people, the most beautiful people of our city, dress. The
00:15:47Estonian Fund for Nature is based in Tartu.
00:15:50Any city would envy
00:15:58such an architectural object. This is the Tartu Nature House.
00:16:01Seventy years ago, there was a young naturalists' station here,
00:16:05and now it's a modern, landscape-integrated educational
00:16:09center for children and adults.
00:16:11The Nature House, surrounded
00:16:16by a park, is its logical continuation. It is lower
00:16:19than the surrounding trees, and therefore almost invisible
00:16:23from the street. The space inside the building is enlarged
00:16:27by the basement floor. Natural materials are used in the decoration,
00:16:30which makes the Nature House literally blend in with the plant world
00:16:34outside. Why does your wonderful
00:16:37Nature House have such an interesting architectural
00:16:41form? This house is designed
00:16:44in the shape of a stump with three branches. One
00:16:48branch points north, another east, and the third
00:16:51west. And this house blends very well with the surrounding
00:16:55park. This building would not have such significance if
00:16:59it stood in an empty space. The fact that it
00:17:02harmonizes with the surrounding park gives it
00:17:05value. This form is also associated with...
00:17:24The main finishing material here is, of course,
00:17:27wood, there is a lot
00:17:29of it here.
00:17:34The Nature House is a so-called passive house, meaning it
00:17:38uses technologies that maximally reduce the burden
00:17:41on the environment.
00:17:42This is a piece of tropical
00:17:45forest in an ordinary after-school club, and exotic
00:17:49plants for our latitudes grow here,
00:17:52avocados, coffee, this is a real
00:17:56banana tree, they bloom
00:17:59and bear fruit here.
00:18:00Here's how a Monstera blooms,
00:18:08a popular indoor plant. However, seeing
00:18:11such a flower in a home environment is a great
00:18:15rarity. Also, red-eared sliders
00:18:18live here in the winter garden, and one must be careful
00:18:21with them. Despite stereotypes, these are
00:18:25quite fast creatures, and with their
00:18:27beak they can inflict a minor
00:18:30injury.
00:18:32What kind of classes
00:18:34are held here?
00:18:37This is much more than just an after-school club. The after-school
00:18:41club continues to operate in this building, with clubs open for
00:18:45children, nature lovers, ornithologists, and also,
00:18:48for example, training in nature-friendly design
00:18:51is offered here, environmental research is conducted,
00:18:54and clubs focused on technology operate. In the mornings,
00:18:58schoolchildren and groups from kindergartens come here, and our
00:19:01doors are also open for conferences and seminars,
00:19:05you can even celebrate a birthday here.
00:20:10The Estonian Nature Fund is a free association dedicated
00:20:14to nature protection, which was established in
00:20:161991. It is a non-governmental
00:20:20organization, independent both politically and
00:20:23economically. The Fund provides assistance where
00:20:26it is necessary to combine the efforts of state scientific
00:20:29institutions, enterprises, and active citizens with the aim
00:20:33of protecting common natural values. The fund's logo depicts.
00:20:40in Estonia, which are most at risk of
00:20:43extinction.
00:20:51Environmental anthropologist Joonas Pärn is involved
00:20:54in the Kalafor program run by the Estonian
00:20:58Nature Fund, which means "fishfork." The program
00:21:01focuses on the fish we consume
00:21:04as food.
00:21:06The point of Kalafor is to help all fish lovers understand
00:21:10which fish consumption is more environmentally friendly and
00:21:13which is less so, that is, not all fish species are doing well in
00:21:17nature, and an ordinary person may not know
00:21:20this. This is what the Estonian Nature Fund, together with the World
00:21:24Wildlife Fund, is trying to do: first and foremost,
00:21:28to give people information about which fish are better
00:21:31to buy, but we also work with fishermen and fish
00:21:34sellers. Information on various fish
00:21:38species and the environmental friendliness of their consumption
00:21:42is published on the kalafor.
00:21:44ee website. Already from the name of the program, you can
00:21:47guess that fish market products are conventionally divided
00:21:51into three categories: red, yellow, and green.
00:21:54Red category fish are not recommended for consumption,
00:21:58while green are unlimited.
00:22:02Here we see fish caught in Estonia in Lake Peipus, or
00:22:05farmed in Estonia. All of them are in the green
00:22:08category. It's interesting that when we started studying how
00:22:12Estonian fisheries and aquaculture differ from
00:22:15global ones, we realized that the simplest advice we
00:22:18can give is to buy.
00:22:50Marine species such as Baltic herring and sprat can be consumed
00:22:53more often. For large predators such as cod, things
00:22:57are much worse than for smaller species. However, for
00:23:00freshwater fish, the situation is better. Bream and pikeperch
00:23:04are large fish, but currently their populations in Lake Peipus are not
00:23:07threatened, so they can be consumed with a clear
00:23:10conscience.
00:23:20Once upon a time, various devices were produced here, some
00:23:24of them highly secret. Now, however, this is a culture factory,
00:23:27and the aparatehas
00:23:29gentrification in Tartu.
00:23:33For a long time, this was an industrial wasteland, former
00:23:36production buildings awaiting a new owner. Now, however,
00:23:40life has returned here, it has found new meaning.
00:23:44Speaking of the environment, we must understand that in an urban
00:23:47area, we are talking about the environment surrounding
00:24:00its residents. Therefore, the utilization
00:24:02of territories, especially territories
00:24:05located in the very center of the city,
00:24:08beautifies the city and improves the quality of life for all
00:24:10its residents.
00:24:14Like many such objects around the world, the Apparatus Factory in
00:24:18Tartu has its own rich real history, a part
00:24:22of which the new owners are trying to preserve,
00:24:25like this cosmic canvas, created over half a century
00:24:29ago. What was here before, what kind of
00:24:32apparatus did the apparatus factory produce? As
00:24:35the name of the factory suggests, various apparatuses were indeed
00:24:39produced here. The public knew only about a small part of the
00:24:43products manufactured here, for example, taximeters, umbrellas,
00:24:46zippers, various small items,
00:24:50for example, espagnolettes for windows, which were in every home. In the shadow
00:24:54of civilian items, items for the defense
00:24:56industry were also produced here, but the workers could
00:25:00not know their purpose. It was a very large factory. In its heyday
00:25:04in the seventies, 1,500 people
00:25:07worked here.
00:25:10In the nineties, the Apparatus Factory declined, like most
00:25:13Soviet industries. Its transformation
00:25:16began in 2006, and the culture factory itself
00:25:27I admit that even 20
00:25:30years ago something could have been simmering here, for
00:25:33a modern, greener,
00:25:36more comfortable city for its residents, it is unacceptable
00:25:40in modern times for any polluting
00:25:43industries to be located in the city
00:25:45limits.
00:25:48This cat's name is Johanna. Gutenberg, after the German
00:25:52inventor of printing. The kitten was named by the staff of the Estonian
00:25:55Museum of Printing and Paper when he settled there in
00:25:582012. The cat moved to the Apparatus Factory.
00:26:32If cars can't reach the door, their business
00:26:35will go bankrupt. But the opposite happened: outdoor
00:26:38cafes appeared. Of course, a fire truck or ambulance can
00:26:42pass through here at any time, but loading and unloading goods
00:26:46can only be done during certain morning and
00:26:49evening hours. This means that during the day, children
00:26:52can safely play here in the yard, people can sit in cafes, and
00:26:56there is no dust brought by
00:26:58cars.
00:27:09Sasha, as a resident of Tartu, how did you react to the appearance
00:27:12of Aparadi Tehas in your city? With joy. It
00:27:16was a blank spot on the city map
00:27:20for many years. Here we can see
00:27:24enterprises of completely different
00:27:26directions, bars, or even the trendiest
00:27:30second-hand shops in our city.
00:27:32This is where probably the most beautiful young people, the most
00:27:36beautiful people of our city, dress.
00:27:53Watch in the next episode, go gas,
00:27:57wow, gas, of course, is considered a much more environmentally
00:28:00friendly type of fuel than...
00:28:06gives not only milk, but also valuable raw materials for
00:28:09gas production, this is a witch.